The Superbowl this year just didn’t cut it for me. The only commercial I ended up liking was Google’s “Every Search is a Story” ads. This commercial caught me off guard – I wasn’t expecting it to be this good!

Life… From a Genius’ Perspective

This will also make you think about life and your relationships with other people. Some of my favorite quotes from Einstein’s essay, The World as I See It, are:

“But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people — first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy.”

and

“A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving..”

And as your reward for reading this far… The FUNNIEST Craiglist ad you have EVER read.

Seriously – my roommate and I almost peed our pants after reading this ad from, ahem, a man named Cougarclaws.

Pole dancing classes are growing more and more popular. These classes take place in a studio, presumably with poles (which I hope they disinfect regularly). Enter females who are there to rock their favorite pair of going out heels and perform mind-boggling stripper moves in front of other girls with similar personality qualities (or for their boyfriends after the class is over). Oh, the glory – doing what strippers do in clubs without receiving money for it! In that respect, it seems like an internship for university credit – you get the experience, but you’re paying FOR it instead of getting paid (Hello, I could use those $1 bills! Laundry’s killing me).

Let’s re-cap: You are half-naked… exercising in heels… and paying MONEY for it. Sounds like a nightmare I had last week. (This isn’t the case in all classes, but still.) The whole concept of pole dancing classes seemed a bit silly to me. This is why I never thought I’d see the day when I myself would A) watch a pole dancing routine and B) then consider the activity an art form.

Seriously, I now think pole dancing belongs in the Olympics. And some people would agree with me! Namely an association called World Pole Dance Sport & Fitness. They even have a slogan. And if you promise not to laugh, I’ll tell you what it is. PROMISE? …They are “Opening closed minds.”

But having Pole Dancing in the Olympics wouldn’t be THAT crazy. There’s already a World Pole Dancing Competition. And it’s not your average half-naked woman who takes part in it. You have to have some serious strength and flexibility. Check out the video below! I apologize for the horrible video quality, but my mouth dropped (and I’m guessing she had the same effect on all of the guys in the front row!)

How the hell is she not falling off right now? How can she hold herself on the pole with just her armpit? MAD skillz, that’s how.

And just think of the impact on at-home pole sales after pole dancing is an acceptable Olympic sport. It won’t be just your weird kinky neighbor that has one in the middle of the living room. We’ll probably see those annoying online TV advertisements for The Magic Bullet, followed by the Complete Pole Dancing Kit, and then your standard male enhancement commercial. To help you visualize this phenomenon, I FOUND one amazing pole dancing commercial!

All jokes aside, this type of pole dancing obviously requires dedication, talent, and strength. I apologize for underestimating its exercise and aesthetic value! Now the first step toward legitimacy would be to put more clothes on… then maybe people will take it seriously because they will actually be able to concentrate on the physical finesse it takes to perform those moves, rather than… other things. What do you think?

What happens after 27 million people watch your ridiculous wedding entrance set to a catchy Chris Brown tune? And what are the implications of this viral social media on our culture and even our economy?

Enter Jill and Kevin.

Jill & Kevin attracted so much attention from their YouTube hits that they started supporting a violence prevention charity and created their own website. Oh, and they appeared on the Today Show to re-create the event. Down a runway in the middle of Times Square. With the entire wedding party.

Spoof City

It spawned an endless amount of responses. Most notably and recently, the Office paid homage to the JK Wedding Dance. This further revived interest in the video. A flurry of comments appeared, ranging from “I wish I saw your version before I watched the Office!” to “this just isn’t right to do in a church…”

So when a national television show puts on a version of your wedding dance, one would assume that more people would see the tv show’s version, right? We’re talking about the Office here – a hugely successful, NATIONAL television show. Prepare to drop jaw: 9.1 million people watched the wedding episode of The Office. That is a huge number of people, but it’s got a lot of catching up to do to attain JK Wedding Intro status. It needs 16 million MORE views, to be exact. Good luck with that, Jim and Pam.

Someone’s Gotta Be Making Bank

Ah, Chris Brown. You are one lucky, lucky man. Let us not forget about his indirect, yet crucial role in the video. For your amusement, I crafted a time line of Chris Brown’s stupidity/dumb luck:

2008

Releases “Forever”, which successfully tops the charts.

Abuses Rihanna. The idiot receives bad press, bad sales, a bad reputation… oh, and he loses all of his endorsements. Radio stations begin pulling his music.

2009

He receives salvation in the form of the JK Wedding Dance, despite his best attempts to apologize via YouTube. Watching people happily dance down a wedding aisle to his song makes viewers forget that he sent Rihanna to the hospital. It’s just SO catchy. So he’s back on top of the charts. An entire year after the song debuted.

Releases “I Can Transform Ya”, which turns out to be pretty successful.

More publicity for the undeserving Mr. Brown, this time from the Office. After the wedding episode aired last Thursday, “Forever” and “I Can Transform Ya” shot to the top of the R&B charts.

…So What Does This Say About Our Culture?

Social media and viral videos obviously have more of an impact on our culture today and reach more people than traditional media like television and radio. The impact of a single YouTube video is astounding. A viral video can make or break you. In Chris Brown’s case, it was the indirect, positive press coverage via the wedding video that gave his career a comeback even after he abused Rihanna. And in Jill and Kevin’s case, it was an unexpected opportunity to support charities they believed in and gain life experiences and publicity through venues like The Today Show and The Office. It’s an entirely different Horatio Alger story. Your thoughts?

It really does exist! Experience it for yourself, or watch the informational video below:

Now, after watching this video, you’re probably thinking: HOLY CRAP. I really want to shave AND make my calls simultaneously! And instantly know how to say “You betcha!” in Farsi. And make a cup of coffee with a phone roughly the size of a large swiss army knife?

Don’t be silly. Don’t be like the hundreds of gullible people who commented on this YouTube video. That’s why I’m here to clear things up for you.

The whole thing is genius. It’s actually a PR stunt for Nova Scotia. They are playing on our love for convenience and futuristic, techy objects. And antioxidants. It’s both an advertisement and a comment on today’s society. I know this because when you click Release Date at the top of the page, it re-directs you to a page all about tourism in Nova Scotia – the PLACE that has everything! They also admit that this phone does not exist. If you think about it, this is an innovative, creative way to get people to learn about what Nova Scotia has to offer. It doesn’t particularly make me want to travel to Nova Scotia, but I appreciate their ingenuity. What do you think?

I’m consistently impressed by creativity. Especially the kind that ad agencies come up with. They don’t reinvent the wheel (pardon my cliche), but they come up with something new, fresh, and relevant without being totally off the mark. As a creative person, the creative process is mind-boggling to me. To fully appreciate said creativity, check out this years Creativity Winners List. Trust me, people. You will enjoy these – I hadn’t seen many of them.

And while you’re checking out those creative commercials, make sure you look at Crispin Porter & Bogusky’s ads. Because if you haven’t heard about a certain Alex Bogusky, it will definitely amuse you to hear about him now. Among the other mildly entertaining things he does, he:

Wrote a diet book while advertising for Burger King and Domino’s Pizza. (Aside from the blatant contradiction I just wrote, that’s pretty darn funny.)

Interviewedhimself on his own blog. (Hey, I could do that! But I won’t, because I’m not Alex Bogusky. I am also sans millions of dollars that would justify interviewing myself.)

Has a business card with one rounded corner that reads, “25% safer than most other business cards.” (I have to admit that I absolutely love this.)

Designed the (dare I say it?!) sweet new Microsoft ads. I’m an Apple fan, but I’m loving these ads!